In this episode, we unleash our female anger with “Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger” by Rebecca Traister. This book explores the transformative power of female anger and its ability to transcend into a political movement. Vanity Fair calls it “a hopeful, maddening compendium of righteous feminine anger, and the good it can do when wielded efficiently—and collectively.” We had the opportunity to record this episode in the Finger Lakes wine region (when we stayed at Glen Hollow) after having spent an afternoon in Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the women’s rights movement in America.With this female-empowered book, we wanted to focus on a badass female winemaker in the Finger Lakes. We were lucky enough to get a tour and tasting with Hosmer Winery’s Julia Hoyle (a POP first!). We chatted with her about her journey, the region, and more.
In this episode, we dive into this kooky and wild adventure! “Big Swiss,” by Jen Beagin, is the story of Greta, a woman living in a small town and working as a transcriber. A local sex therapist asks her to transcribe sessions with his local patients and inevitably, Greta recognizes one of these voices while at the dog park. The voice belongs to none other than “Big Swiss.” “Big Swiss,” aka Flavia, and Greta get caught up in an affair that will keep you turning pages late into the night. This is a story about companionship, trauma, starting a new chapter, and the ways in which we build our lives according to our fears.With this LGBTQ+ book, we wanted to focus on queer winemakers. In a past episode, we featured the wife duo of Camins 2 Dreams, so we were pleased to find another partner duo in love at Birdhorse Wines. To celebrate this queer story, we chose their rosé from the 2023 Pride Pack.
Our book choices often relate back to current events—whether it’s women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ equality, BIPOC empowerment, climate change, etc. So, we decided to create Popping Off the Page, special spin-off episodes that highlight the people who are trying to make the world a better place. On this episode, we interview Jennifer Serrano and Veronica Vasquez from JZD, who are breaking barriers as a queer Latina-owned lifestyle brand that builds community and celebrates cultura every day. Founded in 2016 by the wife duo in the border town of Brownsville, Texas, JZD exists to empower and remind Latinas that eres una diosa; poderosa y hermosa!Jen and Vero are proud to be living their American Dream with their “dollar and a dream” hustle mentality, which has catapulted their business and brand to unimaginable heights as two women with immigrant roots. Jen immigrated from Mexico at the age of six and Vero is a first-generation Mexican-American. Jen and Vero started JZD because they needed a reminder of their power. Their first successful product is the now iconic Pink Latina Power Tee. When that t-shirt went viral, they realized that so many in the community felt the same way. At that moment they decided to focus on creating products that made them feel represented and connected to their roots. Under their community first mindset and dedicated leadership, JZD has reached $2 million in sales in under six years, grown a social media community of more than 100,000 followers, launched a collection at Target and shipped to more than 31 countries. All while being independently owned and self-funded.
In this episode we rock out to “Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. DJ&TS has been extremely popular and got a boost after the release of the series adaptation on @primevideo a few months ago! We discuss the book and the show—focusing on where we think the producers got it right and where they got it wrong! Based on the story about a fictional rock & roll band in the late 60s, DJ&TS is a moving story about a band that becomes more like a family, but eventually ending in disaster and sudden collapse. As an ode to main character Daisy Jones, we pair this book with Henriot Brut Souverain Champagne.
After a short break (life gets in the way sometimes!) we’re excited to dive into Ta-Nehisi Coates' “Between the World and Me.” This National Book Award winning-novel is short but packs a punch. Written as a letter to his son and inspired by James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time,” Coates writes about what it means to be Black in America. He weaves the personal anecdotes and stories into life lessons for his son as well as personal reflections we can all learn from. For this discussion, we are joined by Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) Director Franklin Sirmans and we touch upon what role education plays in our biases, reflect on what we learn at school versus what we don’t, the humanist approach of museums, and more. Alexa pairs the wine with La Fête Blanc du Blanc, gifted by the amazing Ray Sholes @theroyalvines, certified sommelier and wine geek. PAMM artists mentioned in this episode: Leandro Erlich, Virginia Jaramillo, Firelei Báez, Bisa Butler, John William Bailly, Alfredo Jaar, Teresita Fernandez, Calida Rawles, Gary Simmons, and Antonia Wright. And to humor our PAMM in-house general counsel: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this program are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or positions of any entities they represent.